The Love You Write
by noskithabroski
Summary: They have a long, complicated and drawn out past that they have fought to hide for years. But what happens when Betty stumbles across a box of letters sent to a young Alice Smith to one Forsythe Jones II? Read and find out. Im not great at summaries, please read.


He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he drove in complete silence, an act that was very much not like him, he had too much on his mind to try and focus on any music that may be playing anyway. It was the end of July and FP Jones was running out of time before the summer would end and everyone he considered major parts of his life would be gone, possibly forever. The young, shaggy haired boy had spent the better part of the summer trying to hold everything together and put off the inevitable, which mostly meant drinking and board-line begging his best friend and former lover, Alice Smith, not to leave the small town with her boyfriend.

Boyfriend. God he hated her boyfriend, and the fact that she was with anyone but himself. It was no secret to the town of Riverdale that FP had it bad for Alice and for a while the feelings were mutual and they were the "it" couple of the Southside. As it would have it though, Alice saw more in her future then running the streets with a bunch of thugs, FP wasn't too sure that he could say the same for himself. He would still ask though, every day when he would see her at Pops, standing behind the counter in the uniform that only she could make look like it was the most beautiful garment to be made, he'd stroll up to the counter, order a milk shake and flash her his most charming smirk before ultimately trying once again to get her to change her mind, the last attempt being earlier in the week.

 _"I read somewhere that Boston has some real shit traffic" He says after sipping on his shake. He knew that it was the worst argument he could have come up with but what could he do, he tried almost everything else and Fred hadn't been too useful in helping him research reason why he should hate Boston when in actuality it seemed like a great place._

 _"What?" She asks, just staring at him like he was an idiot._

 _"Yeah, and even if you did get to where you need to be on time, I mean... Good luck with parking" He adds quietly, losing his confidence in the moment._

He shakes his head thinking back to the conversation, "So stupid" he mumbles just as he pulls up to the Smith Trailer and turns his lights and engine off. FP takes a moment to steady his breathing and talk himself up. He was desperate at this point, Alice was set to leave with Hal in just 2 more weeks and he just couldn't let that happen. He and Alice grew up together, they were best friends all through school until FP finally made a move in the 10th grade, since then his heart had been set on her.

Getting out of the truck, he walks to the side of the trailer that her window was on and he tapped on the glass a few times, hoping her father wouldn't hear and come investigate. He could only worry for so long though, as within seconds Alice had lifted the glass and was talking to him in a hushed tone.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing? It's past midnight, my dad will kill you if he sees you" He says, making FP laugh. "Its not funny, Forsythe. I'd rather my father not die right before I leave for college, thanks" He says in that snarky tone that was 100% unique to her.

"Funny you should mention college" He says, pulling himself through the window and falling to the ground with a small thud.

"Not this again" she says, closing the window again and sitting down on her bed, looking up at him. She was already dressed for bed, could have already been asleep, who knows but the possibility made him feel a twinge of guilt in him chest.

"Just hear me out, Ally" He says, moving to sit next to her. "Are you sure you wont reconsider, I mean, Boston is so far away. What about your parents and the serpents and your friends?" And me. He added in his mind.

"I'll be back to visit, and everyone is leaving, I want to get out too. I don't want to stay here selling drugs to get by. I want a career, I want to write for more than our crappy school paper." She tells him, her voice raising slightly, she had explained all of this to him before, he knew her reasons inside and out by now.

"I know, Ally, I do but this..." He says, picking up a brochure for the school her and Hal had chosen, "Him?" He adds, their eyes meeting.

"What about him?" Alice asks, her tone more annoyed now than anything.

He stands up and begins to pace, his heart was racing and he could feel the nervousness in his stomach as he thought on how to say what he had on his mind, this had always been his biggest problem with her, he never knew how to vocalize just how important she was to him.

"Fuck, Alice. How can you be so damn smart and still so clueless" He says with a laugh. "I love you, I haven't stopped for a second. Do you know that?" He asks but when all she did was stare back at him without a word he continued. "I messed up, boy do I know it but you and me... That's how it is supposed to be. Not you and that Northside prick and all of his family's money. We used to make fun of people like him" He reminds her before he quickly sits down next to her again. "Please. Reconsider. I love you, I need you back in my life and anything you want, anywhere. We can go, we can figure it out but please, don't go to Boston" He says, finally getting out all he had to say. But still, she said nothing, her silence lasting almost a full minute before FP saw the tear roll down her cheek and if he was honest, he had no clue if that was a good or bad sign. "Ally, say something. I'm dying here.." A low chuckle comes from deep in his chest as he tried to calm his nerves.

She wipes her eyes with her sleeve then shakes her head, "No" She says

"No?" He questions quietly. He had just just confessed his love for her, his extreme loyalty and the promise to do all in his power to deliver her the things she wants and all she says is no? His heart felt like it was being torn from his chest as he tried to hold back his own tears, not wanting to let go of his tough guy act.

"Hal is my boyfriend, FP. You have some nerve coming here and just asking me to toss him aside. I thought we were friends" She says, angry but more tears forming.

"We havent been just friends since the end of freshman year" He says.

"Maybe you're right" Alice was overwhelmed with emotion. FP was her best friend but their history was so much deeper than that and she would be lying if she said she didn't love him too, but she was always better at lying then letting herself be vulnerable and risk getting hurt again, especially when dealing with the likes of a Jones man. " I think you should leave now" She says, wanting to get the image of his sad puppy dog eyes out of her mind as quickly as possible, it was just too much to handle.

"Ally, please. Don't do this" He begs, he couldn't give up so easy. He knew her, he knew that she loved him and he didn't know why she wouldn't just drop the act and make it easier on both of them. Why did she love to make them both suffer so much?

"Now, Forsythe. Or I can go ask my dad to see you out" She threatens, her tone was harsh and cold.

FP stares at her in surprise before he holds his hands up in surrender and shakes his head. "Fine, fine..." He says and turns toward the window that he had entered through, opening it and climbing out. She walks over to close it once again but before she can she hears him calling her name again.

"Ally" He says, looking up to her slightly. "Just... I love you. I really do." He tells her once again, "I wasn't just saying that to try to get you to stay" He wanted that to be completely clear, it was the only real thing he could express about how he felt.

The young woman simply nods, "Goodnight FP" She says and closes the window, followed by the curtains. FP stood there for another moment, lost in his thoughts before making his way back to the car.

Once safely inside the car and away from prying eyes, FP allows himself a moment of weakness and the tears he had been holding back while in the room of the woman he loved began to flow like a faucet.

He let himself stay like that for several minutes before he cleared his throat, wiped his eyes and silently told himself to man the fuck up. The car engine roars to life and he reaches over to turn the radio on, flipping to the loudest and hardest rock song he can find playing and turning it up even louder, this time wanting to drown out any thoughts he may have lingering in his head. He is walking through the door of his own trailer before he knows it, tossing his leather jacket over the back of a dining chair and retrieves a bottle of water from the fridge and moving to the couch, plopping down and sighing deeply. He looks around the dingy trailer for a moment before his eyes land on a paper sitting on the coffee table in front of him. FP sets his drink down and leans forward, picking up the brochure with the words "Go Army" printed in large font on the page. Her words ringing in his ears.

 _Everyone is Leaving._

He closes his eyes and wishes he had something stronger to drink then the bottle of water next to him before opening them again and opening the brochure, letting the application form fall out out. He considers all his options, which was over fast because Alice was right. If he stayed on the Southside he would just end up selling drugs like their parents and all the serpents before them so without another thought, he grabbed the nearest pen and began filling out all the paper work to enlist in the military, a small part of him holding onto hope that maybe this would show her that he can be more than a thug, he can be what she needs him to be.


End file.
